HOME        |        ABOUT        |        COPYRIGHT        |        CONTACT        |         RECIPE INDEX        |         INDIAN THAALIS        |         MILLET RECIPES        |        EVENTS' ROUNDUP        

Friday, October 19, 2007

Munchable Moong Dal

Here is a simple, protein rich snack great for munching.
Usually I buy fried dals when ever I go shopping for Indian groceries since my kids' seem to love them. This time, I tried frying moong dal (in oil) at home for the first time. I had heard my MIL 's recipe from my husband and so followed those instructions. It is quite a simple preparation.
I also tossed a batch of dal coated with oil in the MW to see how they turn out. I was a little skeptical about frying moong dal in the MW because I was expecting the dal to get burnt. I did it anyway and to my surprise, the experiment was a success.
Both the versions tasted identical. The MW method takes a bit longer compared to the oil fry method and (very slightly), the dal may not be uniform in color.
Oil fry method:
Ingredients:
Moong dal - 1 Cup
Baking soda - 1 tsp
Oil to fry - 1 to 1.5 cups
Salt
Method:
Wash the moong dal in water once or twice and throw away the water used.
Soak them in enough water in a bowl with baking soda over night and then drain all the water. Spread the moong dal on a cotton cloth for about 10 - 1 5 minutes or pat them dry with a towel. (No need to completely dry them. I did this to avoid spluttering.)
Heat oil in a deep frying pan or a small wok. When it reaches smoking point, turn down the stove to medium heat setting. Fry moong dal in batches till they turn slightly golden brown or a shade lighter. It would take a couple of minutes. Frying the dal longer makes it harder to chew.Remove them with a slotted spoon and put them on a plate lined with paper towels so that extra oil is absorbed. Change the paper towels for each batch to make the dal less oily. Each batch would take around five minutes to turn golden brown.
Sprinkle them with enough salt and mix well. To make it hot, chili powder can be added. Cool the mixture and store it in a air tight container.
Using Microwave:
Wash, soak and dry the moong dal as mentioned above.
I used 1/2 tsp of oil for 1/4 cup of moong dal. Mix oil and moong dal well so that the dal is uniformly coated with the oil. Place oiled moong dal in a single layer on a flat microwaveable plate. Microwave till the dal turns slightly golden brown. Keep stirring the dal frequently for uniform frying. (It took 12 - 14 minutes in my microwave). Timings vary depending upon the microwave used and keeping an eye on the dal is important to avoid it from getting burnt.
Remove the dal and spread on paper towels to absorb the oil. Then sprinkle some salt and mix well. Cool the mixture and store it in an air tight container.
This goes to 'cooking 4 all seasons' Srivalli's MEC- Snack event.

40 comments:

Swaruchy said...

wow Suma...We love this moong dal snack too and get it from Indian stores regularly...Thanks for the recipe...They came out really nice dear.....Will try them next time :-)

Tee said...

This was my favorite snack as a kid...my mom used to make this and masoor dal for Diwali ! :) Its great to know that this can be made in the MW too :)

Anonymous said...

Love this fried moong dal, like to mix with bhelpuri or chrumuri. thanks for the recipe.

FH said...

I used to fry Chana dal and soaked dry Batani in B'lore. Never made it.I love those fried dal too. Thanks for MW method, easy on the calorie and saves time!:))

Laavanya said...

Thank you Suma for coming up with such cool ideas to use the MW. Looks very good.

Kribha said...

I love this so much suma. But I haven't tried it at home. Looks great. will surely try it.Thanks for sharing.

Mansi said...

oh, we ate loads of it in India!!perfect snack:)

Manasi said...

Love this crunchy daal!!! I usd to eat loads of this a s a child!

Suganya said...

This is far better than Haldiram's loaded with sodium and vinegar!

Unknown said...

Super easy & healthy. Thanx for sharing.

Namratha said...

Spot on Suma, this surely is one of my favourite all time snacks. I would have fried Moong Dal anyday:) I make chaat with it too by adding chopped onions, chopped corriander, little bit of red chilli powder and a squeeze of lime, fabulous combo:)

Roopa said...

wow yum... i love the fried dals as ever :) mw looks great do the dhalls splutter in mw? would love to try them sometime !

Anonymous said...

used to love eating them while growing up... :)

bee said...

we've been making masala panuts in the microwave almost daily. time to try his now. thanks for the recipe, suma.

Nabeela said...

My husband loooooves fried dal. I didn't know it was this easy to make it at home!

Viji said...

Suma, they are crunchy and all time snack. Very nice. Viji

Bharathy said...

Looks soo niceand perfect suma!!

My family favourite that we get it in stores..haldirams to name..:)

Why no blog hopping lately...dont see you anywhere nowdays as earlier..busy??

Shivapriya said...

I have never tried frying dals at home. Ur's sound really easy, yummy n good for tummy:)

Swaruchy said...

Suma dear....U have been tagged :-) Plz check out my site for details....by the way,how was ur Dussehra...?

Sharmi said...

thats a lovely idea! always bought the haldirams one. this looks so good.

Suma Gandlur said...

Roopa,
The moongdal don't splutter in MW.

Bharathy,
I have been busy lately and was also lethargic. :))

Sirisha,
Thanks for tagging me.

TBC said...

That is such a nice snack. I used to eat it a lot in India.

Padma said...

I would love to munch on them while watching Oprah/some interesting movie. Such comfy snacks Suma, tx for sharing this recipe!

Srivalli said...

Suma...thanks for the lovely entry!

Shella said...

Hey this is the haldiram moong daal namkeen that you get from the stores. Never thought we coudl make them at home. I will surely give it a try.

Unknown said...

hey Suma, first time on your blog . I was searching for this recipe online and found yours . guess this is the only place I found the recipe for this:) Thanks a ton, I love this snack:)

Anonymous said...

I tried this recipe and it came out good, I had to soak overnight though. I was wondering if boiling the dal with salt or pressure cooking it prior to frying it would make it more crunchy like Haldirams - probably their secret?

Unknown said...

Moong Dhall is my favorite snack from haldirams..Nice to hear its so simple to prepare..
will definitely try it.

Anonymous said...

My dal fry was too hard to chew. Why?

Suma Gandlur said...

Mohan,
Pressure cooking will make the dal mushy. If the boiling idea works, let me know.


Anonymous,
My guess would be that the dal was not soaked enough.

Anonymous said...

Since this is our family favourite, i tried it the same way as mentioned. It turned out to be 'kadak' and not like haldirams. what alterations should be made?
i soaked them overnight in my first attempt and for about 3hrs in my 2nd attempt.

Suma Gandlur said...

See the updated post. We get the crunchy dal by adding baking soda while soaking.

rt r said...

Suma,

Thanks for the recipe :-)
Now I can make fried moong dal too!

I tried frying just plain moong dal, and no surprise, it was burnt :-)

rt r said...

Also, I have linked to your post here:
http://arthis-food.blogspot.com/2009/10/my-tried-and-tested-recipes.html

Pooja said...

thnx a lot excellent easy snack

Ravi@Samosas said...

Hi,
I love moong dal as my favorite with tea or light drink but I don't know that I can cook healthy moong dal at home also. I will try according to your moong dal recipe. See how successful I will be. It's easy recipe I think. Now I will move to another easy to cook recipe here but tasty and healthy one.Thanks for your post.

Chicken Recipes said...

Good Stuff.
Thanks for share.

Sonia said...

The namkeen is looking really inviting. I love to snack moong dal often, so will surely try ur great recipe !

Kalyani said...

wow Suma ! this looks perfect !! been looking for this recipe fr long :) slurp !!

Maryam said...

When I was in Arkansas years ago I used to see those in mosque all the time during Ramadan. Instead of eating anything I would finish a whole bowl of namkeen moong dal buti never knew what they were and j would describe them to my Indian and Pakistani friends until they finallly knew them
I am happy I can make them now
Thanks